Analyze the debate over currency wars Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Analyze the debate over currency wars - Essay Example The country most affected by China’s undervalued currency is the U.S. It is important to note that other countries such as the UK are also affected by China’s low exchange rate. Similarly, China is not the only country that pegs its exchange rate against the U.S dollar. Some Middle Eastern countries do the same (New York Times, 2010). Argument In 2003, while following this policy, China added about $10 billion to its reserves, having an overall surplus on its current account (Krugman, 2010). Although China made attempts to appreciate its currency in 2005 and 2008, the changes they made were not significant, nor did they satisfy other countries into believing that China’s minute appreciations would serve to reduce the threat it posed to their currency. In fact, China’s weak currency has been seen as a contribution to the slowdown in the global economy, mainly because China is a country that plays a significant role in the world economy. However, in this pap er, we will analyze the ongoing debate on such currency wars. Most countries, such as the U.S, argue that a currency that is valued lower than it actually should be brings many drawbacks to the competing country. Firstly, the fact that another country’s currency is valued lower makes their exports more competitive in the global market. We can see this example in the current world market as well, where China’s exports are cheaper for many countries around the world. But for countries that have a higher exchange rate, their exports remain uncompetitive in comparison, for example the U.S exports as compared to Chinese exports. Even more so, the low exchange rate of one country, makes importing expensive for them, hence discouraging them from importing from other countries. One country’s imports are another countries exports. This negative attitude toward importing from other countries renders the high valued exchange rate country, at a loss because it will be losin g out on exporting if no one is willing to buy. This is damaging to the industries located in such countries and could give rise to unemployment and hinder economic growth; the exact argument that the U.S. presents in light of China’s exchange rate. A country with a lower exchange rate, like China, could argue that its low exchange rate is to keep its domestic economy stable, where most of its population is employed in industries that thrive on exports. A step of revaluing the currency could prove to be very detrimental since it could lead to the closing down of many industries in the country. By increasing their exchange rate value, countries like China fear that they might face a fall in the demand for their exports. Furthermore, investment depends on the exchange rate vale. If a country revalues its currency to a significantly higher level, they may face a shortage of investment. This fall in demand, combined with a fall in investment may be detrimental for any economy, cr eating within high levels of unemployment and even slowing down the rate at which the country grows economically. These effects could not only affect the home country, but could leave an effect on the rest of the world, especially if most countries relied on the cheap exports of this country. But what really should be understood is that revaluing a currency

Socialism in Russia Essay Example for Free

Socialism in Russia Essay Socialism has its origins in the French Revolution of 1789 and the changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution, although it has precedents in earlier movements and ideas. The Communist Manifesto was written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848 just before the Revolutions of 1848 swept Europe, expressing what they termed scientific socialism. In the last third of the 19th century in Europe social democratic parties arose in Europe drawing mainly from Marxism. The Australian Labor Party was the worlds first elected socialist party. In 1903, the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party began to split on ideological and organizational questions into Bolshevik (Majority) and Menshevik (Minority) factions, with Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin leading the more radical Bolsheviks. Both wings accepted that Russia was an economically backward country unripe for socialism. The Mensheviks awaited the capitalist revolution in Russia. But Lenin argued that a revolution of the workers and peasants would achieve this task. After the Russian revolution of 1905, Leon Trotsky argued that unlike the French revolution of 1789 and the European Revolutions of 1848 against absolutism, the capitalist class would never organize a revolution in Russia to overthrow absolutism, and that this task fell to the working class who, liberating the peasantry from their feudal yoke, would then immediately pass on to the socialist tasks and seek a permanent revolution to achieve international socialism. Nationalist tried to create regional self-government for the Assyrian people with the socialist ideology. He even wrote the Uremia Manifesto of the United Free Assyria. However, his attempt was put to an end

The Self-hatred of Kochan in Confessions of a Mask Essay -- Confession

The Self-hatred of Kochan in Confessions of a Mask In his semi-autobiographical novel, Confessions of a Mask, Yukio Mishima examines the struggle for acceptance by a man living outside of the socially accepted norms. A motif that strongly pervades this novel is death and the images of blood associated with it. Kochan, a Japanese adolescent living in post-war Japan, struggles with his homosexuality and his desire to be "normal." In order to survive, he must hide behind a mask of propriety. At a young age, Kochan shows signs of being attracted to male beauty. His earliest memory is of a young night-soil man "with handsome ruddy cheeks and shining eyes" (8). Initially, his attraction to men is confused with a desire to be like them. Referring to the young night-soil man, Kochan remembers thinking, "I want to change into him. I want to be him" (9). However, as his life continues to take its course, he slowly realizes that his admiration for other men is actually love. When he first begins to appreciate male beauty, he develops an affinity for blood and death. This association may ...

Economic/Social transitions in literature Essay

The great plays staged in London and its more modern counterpart, the films, that are accessible to all, depict the social issues, biases and struggles of not only the characters in the plays or the films, but also the society of that time. As for instance, the acquisition of wealth as a social activity, which is very primitive to man, as primitive as his quest to survive, has been portrayed in varying degrees of need, as if so urgent. The problem arises when one realizes that the quest is not a solo act. There are still other members of the society one belongs to and interacts with, who seek wealth in their own ways. Since man made discoveries of and developed the tools or things he could use for purposes that serve him, benefit him, and enrich him, man became a part of the race for the survival of the fittest. Self-interest is his order of the day that, by hook or crook, he has to engage in activities that will earn for him his status, prestige, monetary rewards, properties and other ‘successes’ or things he finds worthy of his taste. The means by which such ‘rewards’ are achieved are just an afterthought, and most of the time, immaterial to him. The beginning of the 16th century marked the trend towards Industrial Revolution in England and writers have recorded in their manuscripts the daily ordeals their society faced, literally and figuratively. In Christopher Marlowe’s â€Å"The Jew of Malta† as in William Shakespeare’s â€Å"The Merchant of Venice†, it is evident that religious differences or conflicts are present and the Jews figured greatly in these conflicts. They are despised by the locals – Maltese and Venetians alike. They are spat on and called by other names for the Jews are easily identified by the red wigs they are required to wear at all times. Shakespeare echoes the thoughts and social issues regarding the Jews of their time. Sentiments against the Jews are present in both plays although it still remains debatable if Marlowe or Shakespeare were anti-Semitics. The term anti-Semitism came about in 1879, but anti-Jewish agitation was already present for thousands of years. Even during the ancient Roman Empire, the Jews were already discriminated upon politically for their religion and special forms of worship. Discrimination was also used as a ground against the Jews from obtaining Roman citizenship. As they were responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ during his time, they have been considered a race with a bad reputation. As the gospel of Christ spread from Jerusalem to surrounding Gentile lands to as far as the western hemisphere and brought about the eventual domination of Christianity, Jews had been the object of universal and systematic hatred where religion is concerned (â€Å"Anti-Semitism†, 2009). Equally disdainful are the Jews’ regard to the Christians’ religious hypocrisy. Both plays present the utter hypocrisy of Christians who are superficially devout but are inwardly rotten as Barabbas’s slave, Ithamore. The materialistic friars Jacomo and Bernardine, leaders of Christianity from different orders in a certain locality, are keener at the wealth of Barabbas than of the heavenly riches they preach. Evidently, social structure is at play. An invisible social structure somehow manipulates important social systems that includes the manner society conducts its trade, or handles and interprets its laws, its political affairs, its cultural norms and other areas. All institutions of human affairs are considered social structures, including family, religion, law, economy and class and all these are under a larger and more encompassing chunk called â€Å"social system† (Lopez and Scott, 2000). Marlowe’s portrayal of Barabbas, closely resembling the murderous Barabbas who was freed during the time of Christ, also performed a killing spree he masterminded. There was no telling at the end, though, of the motivations that drove him to such state, especially after he has regained his wealth after streaks of political deceptions. Poor men marrying wealthy women as a form of emancipation from their present state seems acceptable. In â€Å"The Merchant of Venice†, Bassanio’s urgent love for Portia is ambiguous that he even tells Antonio to consider the arrangement an investment. In â€Å"The Jew of Malta†, Barabbas dislikes the Christian men courting his daughter for he does not want any of them sharing the wealth he stored up for her. Men and women are used to cross-dressing. On the very stage where Shakespeare’s plays are performed, no women are allowed to take part. So men in women’s roles cross-dress. Quite intriguing also is the love of Antonio for Bassanio that he was willing to shed off a pound of flesh to prove his great love for his friend. â€Å"The Shoemaker’s Holiday†, Thomas Dekker’s comical play, was staged around the time the fame of Shakespearean plays were a hit in London and it also echoes the type of social structure where men of stature cannot marry women of lesser stature as the characters of Rowland Lacy and Rose Oteley depict. There was prejudice among the lower class and vice versa but for true lovers, social classes do not matter. The working class, as in this case, the shoemakers, are at the forefront and where one of them by deception and sheer luck makes it to become Lord Mayor Simon Eyre. According to Lopez and Scott (2000), distinctive between institutional structure and relational structure are some patterns that exist within each structure. They stated that â€Å"social structure is seen as comprising those cultural or normative patterns that define the expectations of agents hold about each other’s behavior and that organize their enduring relations with each other† (Lopez and Scott, 2000, p. 3). They contrasted it as such, â€Å"social structure is seen as comprising the relationships themselves, understood as patterns of causal interconnection and interdependence among agents and their actions, as well as the positions that they occupy† (Lopez and Scott, 2000, p. 3). Both in the former merchant plays of Marlowe and Shakespeare, deception has always been present in the situations, whether for good intentions or to inflict harm. However, Dekker’s play is more idealistic than it is a real depiction of the working class and the government of his time, for unlike Shakespeare, Dekker did not have the same privilege Shakespeare enjoyed. Meanwhile, Charles Dickens’ â€Å"A Christmas Carol† portrays the now evident gap between the rich and the poor in 18th century England and the deeper problems the gap brought in with it ? poverty and social injustice. As Dickens’ play tackles serious issues present in society during his time that no one but Ebenezer Scrooge can greatly personify, it is unmistakable that Dickens was calling on his fellowmen to take a closer look at the plight of the others who were not as fortunate. Dickens asks, in effect, that his fellow Englishmen understand and act on the dilemma facing those displaced and eventually sent to poverty by the dark age of the Industrial Revolution (Dickens, 2003). The Scrooge’s utter disregard towards everything but money makes him the monster that will invoke doom for all. If from the earlier merchant plays, self-interest seems like the rule-of-thumb, in â€Å"A Christmas Carol† the call for selflessness points out that social responsibility does not end when taxes are filed. The story has become one of Dickens’ best and one of four other Christmas books he had published. In fast-paced New York, the 80s â€Å"Wall Street† film by Oliver Stone (1987) revolves around the ruthless corporate character Gordon Gekko played by Michael Douglas. This film depicts human nature back to its fullest and is personified by greed and corrupt morals. The film deals with the basic craving for wealth and power, getting things done at all cost in no time. Honesty and simplicity have no place; if someone has to go up the ladder of success quickly be greedy. Gekko’s portrayal of the â€Å"Greed is good† speech came from complaints that management owns little of its stock while it supports too many vice presidents, an allusion to real-life speeches and comments signified by Carl Icahn, known as the shrewdest investor in the planet, regarding companies he tried to take over. Also, the defense of greed came from a paraphrased commencement address on May 18, 1986 at the UC Berkeley’s School of Business Administration, delivered by Ivan Boesky, now a Wall Street incognito as he was found guilty of insider-trading. In his address he said that greed is just all right, healthy and still feels good about it. The â€Å"Greed is Good† line may also be adverted Adam Smith, the leading expositor of economic thought on his conclusion about human nature. Smith believed â€Å"rational self-interest in a free-market economy leads to economic well-being. † Smith wrote in his â€Å"Theory of Moral Sentiments† that no matter how selfish a man may be, there is in his nature that will always interest him in the fortune of others and render their happiness necessary to him though he derives nothing from it except the pleasure of seeing it. His view on self-interest is benign and denies that self-love can be virtuous in any degree and that charity, though virtuous, cannot in any way provide the essentials of living by itself. â€Å"Wall Street† mirrors a society so laid-back it has to time for hard work and doing work well; a society that got used to getting big bucks quickly (Stone, 2003). Another New York-based film, â€Å"Working Girl† (Wade, 1988), directed by Mike Nichols shows how Tess McGill, a character played by Melanie Griffith, decides to climb up the ladder of success, out of the secretarial pool she has been in for so long. Despite her resourcefulness, hard work, and degree earned from college, she stands no chance as she lacks the prestige of acquiring a degree from a prestigious school. Intelligent as she is, it is her boss who sucks out good ideas from her. A person’s social position within the social hierarchy in a society indicates a set of people’s opinion of their own place or position in society; and these are very subjective, depending on who a person talks to or who a person associates himself/herself with. Kristina Lindemann (2000) adds that education, occupation, and income are also related to the subjective social position where a person’s environment provides great impact on how an individual sees himself in the context of social hierarchy in society or one’s objective characteristics. Lindemann (2000) further divides these characteristics into ascribed and achieved characteristics. Ascribed characteristics are innate as age, gender and ethnicity while achieved characteristics are acquired or learned as education, occupation or income. While studies show that acquired characteristics are relevant to how one sees himself positioned in the hierarchy, some theorists do not believe so (Lindermann, 2000). The environment McGill works in is too competitive where everyone keeps a watchful eye as to whose idea works and whose idea will push one higher. Reaching the top then has to be done with cutting-edge guts. Out-witting her boss in presenting what is her own original idea for the company, she has to deceive their company’s major client. Other moral issues may also come into play as, to be able to advance notches higher in the corporate world, one has to have to sleep with who is in charge, one has to be mindful of what his colleagues are up to, which may be translated to office politics. REFERENCES Anti-Semitism (2009). Retrieved August 3, 2009 from http://encarta. msn. com/encyclopedia_761574855/Anti-Semitism. html Lopez, J. and J. Scott (2000), Social Structure, Buckingham and Philadelphia: Open University Press. Murdock, G. (1949). Social Structure. New York: MacMillan. Dickens, C. (2003). A Christmas Carol. Grand Rapids: Saddleback. Stone, O. (Writer) (1987). Wall Street. USA: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation Wade, K. (Writer) (1988). Working Girls. USA: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation Vitt, L. A. (2007). Class. Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology Retrieved August 3, 2009, from http://www. blackwellreference. com. libproxy. lib. unc. edu/subscriber/tocnode? id=g9781405124331_chunk_g97814051243319_ss1-49 Lindemann, K. (2007). The Impact of Objective Characteristics on Subjective Social Position. Trames, 11, 54-68.

International Ballroom

Bachate is a unique dance that I have the privileged to learn in my PE-154 international ballroom dance class taught by professor Jane Edwards. This dance originated from the Dominican Republic. It can be difficult to identify the precise style of the Bachata due to the fact that are so many variations throughout the world. However, in all of these different styles throughout the world there are the same basic steps with a tap with hip movement on the 4th beat. The original style of Bachata was developed with the music in the 1950s and 1960s.This dance was well known in the countryside and rural neighborhoods. The creation of the Bachata is given credit to the servants of large households who were the first ones to use the movements and steps. Musicians would use everyday items like trash cans and fences to create music. The term Bachata is said to mean trash, however, other believe it is actually a word for party. For a time the Bachate was only affiliated with the poorer parts of D ominican society forcing these styles of dance only to be performed in the rougher parts of town like brothels and bars, which only further tarnished its name.Nevertheless, the increased popularity of the music eventually caused Bachata to be accepted by the upper classes of Dominican society. There also are some skeptics that believe that the dance was brought over from Italy from an Italian Ballata. Bachata is known to be connect the emotions of romance and heart ache. There are five main styles of Bachata, the Original, Traditional, Modern, Bachatango, and Ballroom. The original is the basic style that can alternate between an open and closed position.The traditional is a simpler style that was developed in the late 1990s with a basic steps side to side changing direction after every tap. The modern style began around 2005 and is an abbreviation of the â€Å"traditional† style. This still is believed to originate from Spain. The modern has the basic Bachata steps with the integration of salsa, tango, zouk-lambada, and ballroom. The bachatango it true to its name and is a mixture of Baracha and Tango. The Ballroom is a style used in various formal dance competitions and there is an extreme use of the hips all throughout the music.

Free Essays on Positivitism

Legal positivism is the thesis that the existence and content of law depends on social facts and not on its merits. The English jurist John Austin (1790-1859) formulated it thus: â€Å"The existence of law is one thing; its merit and demerit another. Whether it be or be not is one enquiry; whether it be or be not conformable to an assumed standard, is a different enquiry.† (1832, p. 157) The positivist thesis does not say that law's merits are unintelligible, unimportant, or peripheral to the philosophy of law. It says that they do not determine whether laws or legal systems exist. Whether a society has a legal system depends on the presence of certain structures of governance, not on the extent to which it satisfies ideals of justice, democracy, or the rule of law. What laws are in force in that system depends on what social standards its officials recognize as authoritative; for example, legislative enactments, judicial decisions, or social customs. The fact that a policy wo uld be just, wise, efficient, or prudent is never sufficient reason for thinking that it is actually the law, and the fact that it is unjust, unwise, inefficient or imprudent is never sufficient reason for doubting it. According to positivism, law is a matter of what has been posited (ordered, decided, practiced, tolerated, etc.); as we might say in a more modern idiom, positivism is the view that law is a social construction. Austin thought the thesis â€Å"simple and glaring.† While it is probably the dominant view among analytically inclined philosophers of law, it is also the subject of competing interpretations together with persistent criticisms and misunderstandings.... Free Essays on Positivitism Free Essays on Positivitism Legal positivism is the thesis that the existence and content of law depends on social facts and not on its merits. The English jurist John Austin (1790-1859) formulated it thus: â€Å"The existence of law is one thing; its merit and demerit another. Whether it be or be not is one enquiry; whether it be or be not conformable to an assumed standard, is a different enquiry.† (1832, p. 157) The positivist thesis does not say that law's merits are unintelligible, unimportant, or peripheral to the philosophy of law. It says that they do not determine whether laws or legal systems exist. Whether a society has a legal system depends on the presence of certain structures of governance, not on the extent to which it satisfies ideals of justice, democracy, or the rule of law. What laws are in force in that system depends on what social standards its officials recognize as authoritative; for example, legislative enactments, judicial decisions, or social customs. The fact that a policy wo uld be just, wise, efficient, or prudent is never sufficient reason for thinking that it is actually the law, and the fact that it is unjust, unwise, inefficient or imprudent is never sufficient reason for doubting it. According to positivism, law is a matter of what has been posited (ordered, decided, practiced, tolerated, etc.); as we might say in a more modern idiom, positivism is the view that law is a social construction. Austin thought the thesis â€Å"simple and glaring.† While it is probably the dominant view among analytically inclined philosophers of law, it is also the subject of competing interpretations together with persistent criticisms and misunderstandings....

Critical commentary Essays

Critical commentary Essays Critical commentary Essay Critical commentary Essay Essay Topic: A Streetcar Named Desire Earlier in the scene Blanche questions Mitch with regards to what Stanley has told him about her and Blanche remarks that Stanley is rude to her. Mitchs reaction, that he is surprised to hear that and [doesnt] see how anyone could be rude to [her], suggests his feelings towards her are sincere and give the audience a deeper insight into Blanches character and how she represents herself. In Blanches earlier scene with Mitch she appears innocent to the world of domestic abuse and tells Mitch she isnt properly dressed and therefore cant sit and have a cigarette with him (although she is easily persuaded.)Mitch believes that she is the pure Southern Belle she wishes to be seen as but in scene nine, after he has looked into Stanleys accusations, he realises she has been promiscuous in the past and, as Stanley does in scene ten, tries to take advantage of her. Blanche tells Mitch how Stanley must hate her since he insults her but then she suggests, perhaps in some perverse way he No! The idea that Stanley might actually be attracted to her causes her to make a gesture of revulsion Before finishing her drink to try eradicate the feelings of uncleanliness.The use of alcohol to mask difficult emotions is a recurrent theme in the play and in Williams own life. The use of the word stalks to describe Stanleys movement through the rooms at night make him appear carnal and animalistic, as well as suggesting the possibility that the rape in scene ten was premeditated which is supported by Stanleys line in scene ten, Weve had this date with each other from the beginning! Blanche talks about the lack of privacy in the flat since there are only portii?res between the two rooms at night. This is an example of her fear of being revealed for who she really is, a theme which is exemplified throughout the play through the use of light imagery. The idea of light appears at the end of the extract after Blanche has explained her husbands suicide to Mitch. She says, And then the searchlight which had been turned on the world was turned off again and never for one moment since has there ever been any light stronger than this kitchen candle This is a particularly interesting line since throughout the play Blanche actively prevents herself being in strong light, perhaps suggesting that she worries that if people knew what she had said to her husband she would be abhorred and blamed for his death. The word again indicates that the searchlight had been off before she met Allen and that it is her love for him that suddenly turned a blinding light on something that had always been half in shadow but since his death no one has been able to compare. Death is a major theme in this extract as well as throughout the play.It is inextricably linked to desire which is shown through Allen Greys sexuality leading to his suicide, Blanches relationship with the student causing her lose to her job and the rape in scene ten which resulted in her being institutionalised and ostracised from society. Although not all of these are physical death they are all metaphors for the destruction caused by desire. Mitch asks Blanche her age, a fact she refuses to disclose, as if by retaining that piece of information she can remain youthful and return to a time before Allens death and her demise.Tennessee Williams shows the audience her reluctance through the use of stage directions (She makes a nervous gesture. ) Mitch wishes to know because he has been talking to his dying mother about her and when she asked Blanches age he was unable to say. When he tells Blanche his mother is sick and wont live long. Maybe just a few months the topic of death is addressed and Blanches tale of her husbands end is made known to the audience in full for the first time.Both Blanche and Mitch have difficulty saying death and instead Blanche says the person I loved I lost and Mitch says She wants me to be settled before she Williams makes this particularly poignant by their consequent actions; Mitch, clears his throat twice, shuffling nervously around with his hands in and out of his pockets while Blanche crosses to the window and sits on the sill, looking out and then pours herself another drink. Both their reactions are very solitary, showing the audience their loneliness.Homosexuality was still considered a mental illness at the time A Streetcar Named Desire was written but, although not accepted, it was tolerated in New Orleans unlike in Mississippi where Allen and Blanche lived. When describing Allen, Blanche points out, There was something different about the boy, a nervousness, a softness and tenderness which wasnt like a mans, although he wasnt the least bit effeminate looking. This tenderness is what Blanche is looking for in every sexual relationship she has ever had but no one has ever been able to provide.Blanche refers to his sexuality as that thing, showing her repugnance which was echoed on the dance-floor at Moon Lake Casino when she said the fatal words, I know! I know! You disgust me It is in this extract that we come to understand the significance of the Varsouviana. Her husband, the man he had been in bed with and Blanche all went to the casino but pretending nothing was wrong. This pretence fooled no one and Williams shows it looming through the use of the Varsouviana in the minor key.After the shot the polka initially stops abruptly but resumes in a major key possibly suggesting the problem of Allens sexuality was resolved and in some ways , it was almost a joy to be free from the pain his sexuality had caused him. The Polka music increases but unlike in every other scene of the play it fades out rather than requiring Blanche to drink until she hears the shot suggesting she is soothed by Mitchs affection rather than merely obliterating her problems through alcohol.BibliographyRoudani, Matthew C. (ed. ) The Cambridge companion to Tennessee Williams. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Bio of French Impressionist Painter Boudin

Bio of French Impressionist Painter Boudin Louis Eugà ¨ne Boudins pint-sized paintings may not enjoy the same reputation as the more ambitious works by his star pupil Claude Monet, but their diminutive dimensions should not diminish their significance. Boudin introduced his fellow Le Havre resident to the pleasures of painting en plein air, which decided the future for talented young Claude. In this respect, and although he was technically a key precursor, we may consider Boudin among the founders of the Impressionist movement. Boudin participated in the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874, and also exhibited in the annual Salon that year. He did not participate in any subsequent Impressionist exhibitions, preferring instead to stick to the Salon system. It was only in his last decade of painting that Boudin experimented with the broken brushwork for which Monet and the rest of the Impressionists were known. Life The son of a sea captain who settled in Le Havre in 1835, Boudin met artists through his fathers stationery and framing shop, which also sold artists supplies. Jean-Baptiste Isabey (1767-1855), Constant Troyon (1810-1865) and Jean-Franà §ois Millet (1814-1875) would come by and offer the young Boudin advice. However, his favorite art hero at the time was the Dutch landscapist Johan Jongkind (1819-1891). In 1850, Boudin received a scholarship to study art in Paris. In 1859, he met Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) and poet/art critic Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867), who took an interest in his work. That year Boudin submitted his work to the Salon for the first time and was accepted. Beginning in 1861, Boudin divided his time between Paris during the winter and the Normandy coast during the summer. His small canvases of tourists on the beach received respectable attention and he often sold these quickly painted compositions to the people who had been captured so effectively. Boudin loved to travel and set out for Brittany, Bordeaux, Belgium, Holland and Venice quite often. In 1889 he won a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle and in 1891 he became a knight of the Là ©gion dhonneur. Late in life Boudin moved to the south of France, but as his health deteriorated he chose to return to Normandy to die in the region that launched his career as one of the maverick plein-air painters of his era. Important Works: On the Beach, Sunset, 1865The Nurse/Nanny on the Beach, 1883-87Trouville, View Taken from the Heights, 1897 Born: July 12, 1824, Trouville, France Died: August 8, 1898, Deauville, France

Answer 2 questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Answer 2 questions - Essay Example This was contrary to the England’s Protestants where he contended that, once the Irish children (who constituted the biggest population) attain the age of maturity usually resulted to being thieves. Since, they could not beg like their mothers in the streets. Swift groups the entire population in two broad groups, which is according to their nationalities besides their denominations and economic stability. The Irish, which are the Catholics normally in his work, represent the lower class of beggars who should sell their children while young to revive both the state and their economy. He also compares the children of the wealth English people with those of the Irish where the latter are many and mainly languishing in abject poverty. In addition, Swift compares the two denominations where the catholic’s population is exceedingly poor contrary to the Protestants. This is evident from the Swift’s mode of salvaging both the poor and the state’s economy, where he suggests selling of children while at a tender age. Since, at this stage they are fat and can fetch considerable money, hence encouraging intimacy among the Irish couples besides becoming economically stable (Swift). Unexcused absence in learning institutions over the years up to date has become an unsolved issue despite both parents and instructors’ efforts in reporting the truants to the relevant authorities. This is not an effective solution because the truants despite the immense coercion from both the relevant authorities and instructors continue to be absent. Hence, hardening them to the extent of becoming potential criminals where dealing with the law does not scare them. The most effective solution will entail assigning them diverse responsibilities in school where they will not be able to avoid the interaction with the instructors. These responsibilities encompass being student leaders and hold other posts where they will not have

The Main Codes Of Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Main Codes Of Ethics - Essay Example There is a difference however in the two groups codes when it comes to whether the principles are obligatory or aspirational. The ASPA's code is much shorter than the ACA's. If you were to ask the author of the ASPA's code if the principles were obligatory, he or she would probably say yes. However, because there is so little detail, the principles are really more aspirational. They do not cover specific situations (unlike the ACA's) and they are full of generalities. The ACA's code is much more specific and lays out what counselors should do when they are faced with various scenarios. This is a better form of guidance. ACA code A2a talks about Informed Consent—this is something much more specific than in the ASPA's code. This difference is noticeable as well in terms of illustrative versus exhaustive elements. The ACA's is exhaustive. It is long and complex and can be used in disciplinary hearings in order to punish counselors who go astray. It details what is appropriate and what is not appropriate regarding relationships with patients. The ASPA's code is not exhaustive. It isn't really illustrative either. It just lays out a few general ground rules. The sad truth is that we need such codes of ethics. Without them, each of these organizations would have trouble with their members. Codes of ethics bind together members. In today's world ethical relativism dominates so it is important to have codes that are carefully written down and that are exhaustive and detailed such as the ACA's. What is ethical relativism?

Study Of Women in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Study Of Women in America - Essay Example The adjective liminal is derived from the word liminality which means to be in a situation where there is a sensory threshold of some kind. In our case, we shall focus on how these three women were able to cope with the challenges that accompanied the threshold situation they were in on whether to challenge the norms and expectations the society had for the women or abide by them. The contact period, which saw the meeting of the British and the North Eastern Native Americans, resulted in a huge clash between the ideas concerning the role of the men and the women in the society. The British cultures and norms were generally very gender biased. Women were not given an opportunity to participate in the politics of the country. They had been secluded to being participants of the domestic realm only in the society (Ulrich, 1991). The men basically controlled everything that happened in the society and made the decisions. Women were made to take a back seat as all these was going on. This was in contrast to the Native American system on gender roles. In the Native American system, the women were allowed to fully participate and take up major roles in the politics of the tribe. ... This was a political conspiracy in which she went against the Indian traditions and placed her head upon John Smith’s when her father was about to execute him with a war club. To the eyes of the British, she was the ideal example of a Native American. When she married John Smith, this was Pocahonta’s way of taking charge of the liminal situation that she was in. she did not sit back and allow the British norms to prevent her from marrying the man that she loved. Her love for John Smith made her take charge and she broke the norms thus making it possible for an interracial marriage to happen. Pocahontas was also able to challenge the English common law by engaging herself in the trade and participating in activities that uplifted her status as a woman in the society (Allen, 2004). Just like Pocahontas, Mary (White) Rowlandson was another woman who did not allow her liminal situation to take charge of how she conducted her lifestyle. During her time, the Native Americans believed that writing was a man’s job. They did not expect the women to indulge themselves in this field. After being captures by the Native Indiana and held hostage for eleven weeks, Rowlandson decided to write a book after her release to cover her ordeals during the capture. Mary Rowlandson decided to def all odds and went ahead to publish her book which spoke of the difficulties that the women had got to face in a male dominated society. Her book was reprinted four times within a short period of time. It was the first American written bestseller (Kerber, De Hart, and Dayton, 2011). With the help of her book, Mary Rowlandson was able to stand tall and bring to light the liminal conditions that the women were faced with as a result of oppressed cultural treatment they were subjected to (Kerber,

HRM human resources management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

HRM human resources management - Essay Example The introduction of the composite pay deal and performance bonus is the most important factor underlining BMW’s success. The performance bonus has been specifically linked to the generation of new ideas to harnass worker creativity. For instance workers are required to come up with three ideas to save 800 pounds each in order to qualify for an annual bonus of 260 pounds (Case). Vroom’s Expectancy Theory highlights the importance of rewards – including extrinsic rewards such as bonuses – in enhancing motivation of workers (Vroom, n.d). Linking increased pay and a bonus specifically geared to reward performance in terms of achieving production targets is conducive to improving employee performance. Moreover, harnassing worker creativity is also likely to provide the intrinsic rewards that help to achieve a high motivation and satisfaction quotient on the job according to Vroom’s theory. Workers will feel that they are making a useful contribution whic h helps to enhance motivation and interest on the job. The second most important feature of the HR package is the overhaul of the flexible working system. The HR practices in this aspect were such that they had to work their way around restrictive covenants and secure increased labor during peak production periods while paying salaries during off production periods. The rearrangement of the working schedule includes the following features: (a) scrapping of the contract in favor of a working time account (b) introducing a working time account (c) the facility to â€Å"bank† time during high production periods (d) overtime to be cashed later for extended holidays (Case). The system was started with every worker coming in with minus 200 hours each, however the reasons for the changes, as stated by Ernest Baumann, head of BMW’s Human resources Department is to â€Å"give associates a greater control over their time.†(O’Brien, 2002: Mar7). The flexible worker schedule and the facility to bank hours and control

Children with Special Educational Needs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Children with Special Educational Needs - Essay Example It was then things started to improve for the mentally and physically disabled children. Instead of calling the mentally and physically challenged children as handicapped, these children were then referred as special educational needs children; a more respectable name. The government of the United Kingdom started to design policies and take initiatives in order to provide equal status to these special needs children. It was undertaken by the department of education to look after the matter of special needs children and build schools accordingly (Gabbitas Educational Consultants, 2012). After the late nineteen fifties, the government of many countries started to make effort to give the physically and mentally challenged people their deserved rights and status in the society. The children with mental and physical disabilities also have the right to study, play, and work and do whatever normal children are allowed to do in the society and at school. These physically and mentally challen ged people also have feelings and are in fact more sensitive and delicate than normal children. These children must be taken under extra care and a very friendly environment so that their self-confidence is not sabotaged and harmed, so that they can grow up to become strong and responsible citizens of the society. It is a general thought that these physically and mentally challenged people are of no use for the society but in fact this is not the case, if these children are brought under proper care and guidance and are given the liberty to do whatever they can do best like any other normal children, there is no doubt that they can also do wonders for the society. Now many countries have government as well as private... This paper approves the government also initiated a campaign to hire new, young, energetic and enthusiastic teachers who are willing to spend time with these special children and make efforts to improve the life and make their life better. A proper hiring process is followed to hire the right person and the government itself carries the process under the supervision of qualified personnel so that the right person is hired and a capable person is hired who can give proper training and education to the special children. This paper makes a conclusion an act was passed by the government that is the duty of the government bodies to identify the children who require special education and then carry out a complete investigation regarding their health, family and psychological background and make conclusions and appoint the right school accordingly. It is also the duty of the government bodies to make sure that the special children are being taught and educate din the proper way and are being helped out with whatever disability they have. The government has made supervising teams whose job is to travel different schools without prior notice and observe the teaching method and curriculum being followed and the way the children are being treated and taken care of. There are numerous other small and large scale initiatives that have been taken by the government in order to make education available for all and give every child equal status and privilege without any discrimination on any grounds.

HRM human resources management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

HRM human resources management - Essay Example The introduction of the composite pay deal and performance bonus is the most important factor underlining BMW’s success. The performance bonus has been specifically linked to the generation of new ideas to harnass worker creativity. For instance workers are required to come up with three ideas to save 800 pounds each in order to qualify for an annual bonus of 260 pounds (Case). Vroom’s Expectancy Theory highlights the importance of rewards – including extrinsic rewards such as bonuses – in enhancing motivation of workers (Vroom, n.d). Linking increased pay and a bonus specifically geared to reward performance in terms of achieving production targets is conducive to improving employee performance. Moreover, harnassing worker creativity is also likely to provide the intrinsic rewards that help to achieve a high motivation and satisfaction quotient on the job according to Vroom’s theory. Workers will feel that they are making a useful contribution whic h helps to enhance motivation and interest on the job. The second most important feature of the HR package is the overhaul of the flexible working system. The HR practices in this aspect were such that they had to work their way around restrictive covenants and secure increased labor during peak production periods while paying salaries during off production periods. The rearrangement of the working schedule includes the following features: (a) scrapping of the contract in favor of a working time account (b) introducing a working time account (c) the facility to â€Å"bank† time during high production periods (d) overtime to be cashed later for extended holidays (Case). The system was started with every worker coming in with minus 200 hours each, however the reasons for the changes, as stated by Ernest Baumann, head of BMW’s Human resources Department is to â€Å"give associates a greater control over their time.†(O’Brien, 2002: Mar7). The flexible worker schedule and the facility to bank hours and control

Community Hazard Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Community Hazard Analysis - Essay Example Durham County occupies the area of 299 square miles, while the City of Durham encompasses 94.9 square miles. The Durham City covers about 33% of the Durham County total land. Its physical location is 406 feet above sea level. The climatic conditions of the area are presented in the table below (Schell, 2006): Natural Hazards are part of our everyday life taking up different form and shapes like tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires, and winter storms. All these events are natural phenomena, thus, are uncontrollable. However their impact on the area and society are quite destructive. Despite their damaging occurrences these natural hazards are part of the natural system. When this natural system meets the man-made environment, then disasters occur. This happens due to the man-made buildings, agriculture and infrastructure that take the path of the natural forces, and these human buildings are neither indestructible nor are recuperative, hence occurrence of a natural disater debilitates the entire community (Management & Hill, 1998). Although it is unlikely to prevent a natural hazard but there are some means available that can help in reducing its adverse consequences. Making use of the available tools and techniques can help in avoiding the devstating effects of a hazard in a timely manner. Here the state and the agencies combine together to make efforts and to assist the community with rebuilding efforts. Since the occurrence of a hazard can impact the community in a destructive manner, it is important to have a hazard mitigation plan in place to make recovery easy. Also, by managing the characteristics that cause the occurrence of the hazard, the negative impacts can be mitigated before a hazard occurs. Thus, a hazard mitigation plan is essential, as it can provide a framework to make informed decisions in event of uncertainity and chaos (Natural Hazards Center, 2006). The basic

Clubs, Clubs, and More Clubs Essay Example for Free

Clubs, Clubs, and More Clubs Essay According to the BoomerProject. com, there will be seventy-eight million ‘boomers’ turning fifty by 2006 that will spend two trillion dollars annually on ‘goods and services and just shopping around. ’ Advertisers, marketers and various club organizations are fighting to attract these trillions of dollars by offering exclusive experiences, luxury condominiums and timeshares, private residential communities, among a multitude of other diversions. According to this same 2005 study, in 2006 thirty-nine additional timeshare plans, including single site and multi-site vacation clubs, are forecasted to open having three thousand nine hundred ninety-eight dedicated timeshare units and, thirty-two projects with four thousand eight hundred and thirty-one condo hotel units are forecasted to open. This article summarizes the different kinds of clubs that are attracting boomers by the millions: The Country Club, the Golf Subdivision, Lot Sales/Sporting Club, the Condominium Club, the Fractional Club and Private Residence Club, the Destination Club, the Timeshare Plan Club, the Multi-Site Timeshare Plan Club (Vacation Club), and the Crossover that implements elements from all of the other options. Indeed, clubs, clubs, and more clubs abound as our baby boomer generation is exiting the workforce and entering the leisurely land of retirement. Boomers have trillions of dollars of expendable income and whichever club concept proves to be the most popular and exclusive will attract top dollar when it comes to luxury, convenience, status, and location.

Without Designers, There is no Fashion

Without Designers, There is no Fashion Fashion can be defined in many ways: it is a form of nonverbal communication, a sign system, a barometer of cultural change. It can also be seen as a form of iconography that communicates messages without words, or a mode of self-expression that enables us to make ourselves understood. For centuries, human beings have used clothing and various types of adornment to communicate messages about gender, occupation, class, and wealth. ‘In contemporary culture, the body has become the site of identity. We experience our bodies as separate from others and increasingly we identify with our bodies as containers of our identities and places of personal expression’ (Entwistle 2000:138). The question one may ask here is: who decides what will be fashionable? It is not a democratic process: fashion dictates, and its followers do as bidden. But who dictates what forms fashion will take? This is the domain of the fashion designer. The role of the designer in the shaping of fashionable tastes is crucial. This is especially true of contemporary society. Today designers are frequently accorded celebrity status. Their names are not only status symbolsthey are often household words. The Role of the Fashion Designer: Background Although their names are synonymous with power and wealth, fashion designers did not always enjoy the high status that they do today. It was not always this way fashion designers were not always ‘in fashion’. For example, consider the history of fashion in Italy. Until the eighteenth century, clothes design was not allowed in Italy: ‘Tailors, always men, were regulated by strict laws, and severe punishments were given to those who tried to formulate new fashions’ (Terzian 2003:75). Fashion at that time was considered the sole provenance of the government. Still, despite government restrictions, fashion design thrived as a covert operation. â€Å"Designers† still managed to create new styles, and people managed to get them. In fact, during this period Venice managed to rival Paris in the latest fashions, despite the fact that they had to disobey government regulations to do so (Terzian 2003: 75). In later years, the evolution of technology came into play. New developments in technology had a huge impact on the clothing industry, and on the development of fashion trends as well. For example, in America, the introduction of the steam engine in 1763 facilitated communication between different parts of the country. In 1793, Eli Whitney’s cotton gin expedited the manufacture of materials, so that the process was not only less cumbersome but also much faster. These two advances improved communication, transportation, and manufacturing all of which contributed to the growth of the fashion industry. Another important breakthrough in the history of fashion was the perfection of the sewing machine. In the mid-1800s, I.M. Singer produced an improved and more efficient model of Elias Howe’s original sewing machine, which was severely flawed This more sophisticated model made sewing easier and faster. In addition, it paved the way for further improvements, such as pattern making, buttonhole makers, and pressing machines (Terzian 2003:78). Queen Victoria’s death in 1901 made the Victorian style of dress obsolete. The uncomfortable bodice she was known for was soon replaced by an oddly shaped garment that was called the â€Å"health corset.† The health corset was the invention of a Frenchwoman named Madame Gaches-Sarraute. It was designed by Gaches-Sarraute to be a less restrictive and therefore more healthful garment. She believed that freeing the waist and diaphragm from the uncomfortable pressure of the corseted Victorian style would promote freedom of movement, improve comfort, and be good for a woman’s overall health. However, whether the â€Å"health corset† was more comfortable, or more healthful, is debatable. It did not last long, perhaps because of the odd â€Å"S† shape that made the sight of it uncomfortable to look at (Terzian 2003:80). It is apparent that even at back then, the fashion had taken on a particular significance: it was not enough to be clothed, one had to be clothed in a pleasing manner. The â€Å"S† shape that Gaches-Sarraute introduced was made obsolete when Paul Poiret joined the fashion world. Terzian describes Poiret as ‘the leading fashion designer of the first decade of the century’ (2003:81). Born in Paris, Poiret grew up in a world of fabric. His father owned a fabric store, and as a boy, Poiret came to know the importance of dress. This led him to open his own shop as an adult Here he experimented with fabrics and styles, often using his wife as a model. According to Terzian, Poiret was one of the first designers to experiment with colours, particularly those used by the Impressionists. In fact, it does seem that Poiret brought fashion to life with his flair for design and love of colour. He was responsible for introducing fashions that were not only pleasing to the eye, but also comfortable. In addition, he created outfits that included the â€Å"walking skirt.† This gave women increased mobility since it did away with constricte d hemlines that inhibited movement (Terzian 81). It was not long before fashion and fashion design became flourishing industries. Fashion, by this time, had become a government-sanctioned enterprise, as well as a highly competitive enterprise. However, the true stars of the fashion world were not the wealthy women who could afford the latest fashions, but rather the designers who created and introduced them. The Fashion Designer of Today Today, the importance of the fashion designer in the shaping of fashionable tastes is undisputed. In addition, the relationship between fashion and social life has become increasingly complex. According to Entwistle, ‘dress is tied up to social life in more than one way: it is produced out of economic, political, technological conditions as well as shaped by social., cultural, aesthetic ideas’ (2000:111). To be fashionably dressed, then, is to make a statement to the world about one’s social and economic background. However, that is only one message that dress conveys. When considering the huge impact fashion has on everyday life, it is impossible to dismiss the role of the people who create and re-create it with each new season. Fashion designers not only design articles of clothing they create and sell coveted images. As one scholar has noted, ‘the right clothing can grant us access to the right places and the right people’ (Jones 2002:21). The primary role of the fashion designers to experiment with the concept of identity through dress. The clothing they design must appeal to the people who buy it; therefore, designers must not just ‘clothe’ the body, they must create items that allow the people who buy them to feel they are buying a particular image or way of life. This has become more and more challenging in recent years, making the task of the designer more and more complex. Ethnic and subcultural styles have become increasingly diverse, and traditional codes are not the same. As Jones has asserted, ‘fashion designers have borrowed from the semiotics of clothes and pushed the boundaries by intentionally destroying principles and harmonies of clothing’ (2002:22). Designers have risen to the occasion, responding to the more sophisticated tastes of contemporary society in bold and innovative ways. The use of clashing colours is one way they do this. Another is the juxtaposition of unusual fabrics. They also experiment with size and shape, as evidenced by the creation of shapeless clothes, such as oversized shirts. And to respond to the sexual androgyny of the day, they have begun to create clothing that is often sexually ambiguous. Entwistle asserts that ‘fashion, dress and consumption provide ways of dealing with the problems of the modern world, characterized by increasing fragmentation and a sense of chaos. Fashion opens up possibilities for framing the self, however temporarily (2000:139). Other scholars have gone further with the concept of fashion as a response to the chaos of the world. Jamie Brasset has even suggested that ‘fashion is at the very least complicit if not thoroughly responsible for the promotion of identitiesâ €™ (2005:202). In this light, the role of the fashion designer is one of power. However, that power also has a negative aspect. As Jones points out, ‘for the designer of fashion, the key difference between his or her product and that of the designer of almost any other product is shelf life. Fashion has built-in obsolescence’ (2002:28). Different seasons require different types of clothing. In addition, clothing itself has a limited life span. As a result of daily wear and tear, as well as repeated launderings, clothing must be continually replaced. The world of commerce has cashed in on clothing’s obsolescence, as well. Given the whirlwind pace of change in the fashion industry, as well as the vagaries of style, the ability to design clothing that meets the demands of an increasingly diverse customer base is quite a challenge. Designers must keep up with cultural and social developments. In addition, they must stay informed about developments in the scientific world. This is in addition to the creative ability they must constantly mine for new and innovative ideas. Today designers often employ a number of assistants to see to the many facets of the industry, because the design itself requires a tremendous amount of creative energy. Natural talent may have set them on the trajectory of success, but well-engineered teamwork is what keeps them on it. The act of design itself takes place in a series of stages. The preliminary step may vary from one designer to another. However, the most common starting point is usually the sketch. As a two-dimensional medium, sketching has its limitations. However, it gives free reign to the artistic impulse. Often a designer’s initial concept may turn out to be something very different at the end. Some designers prefer to use the draping method, which in many ways is more realistic when envisioning the final product. The way in which material is arranged allows the designer to have a clearer plan of execution. Christian Dior has written that ‘fabrics themselves often inspire garment design. For example, the softness and drapability of a jersey might inspire gathers in a dress. Many a dress of mine is born of the fabric alone’ (Terzian 13). As for computer design, it will doubtless become more and more prevalent as newer programs are developed. Conclusion Fashion is both an industry and art. It can be defined in a number of ways, but most would agree that it is more than just ‘clothing’fashion is a concept in itself. As a barometer of cultural change, it is a key to society. For centuries, human beings have used clothing and various types of adornment to communicate messages about gender, occupation, class, and wealth. In addition, the body today has become a site of self-expression, and dress is one way in which that is accomplished. The role of the designer in the shaping of fashionable tastes is crucial. This is especially true of contemporary society. Today designers are frequently accorded celebrity status. Their names are not only status symbols they are often household words. As Gilman has noted, ‘to become someone else or to become a better version of ourselves in the eyes of the world is something we all want . . we respond to the demand of seeing and being seen (1999:3). The role played by fashion designer s, then, is crucial; their creations help us to be seen in the best light. ReferencesAddressing the Century: 100 Years of Art and Fashion. 1998. London: Hayward Gallery Publishing.Brassett, J. 2005. ‘entropy (fashion) and emergence (fashioning)’. Pp. 197209 in Fashion and Modernity, eds. Breward, C. and Evans, C. New York: Berg.Breward, C., and Evans, C., eds. 2005. Fashion and Modernity. New York: Berg.Entwistle, J. 2000. The Fashioned Body: Fashion, Dress, and Modern SocialTheory. Cambridge: Polity Press.Gilman, Sander. 1999. Making the Body Beautiful: A Cultural History of AestheticSurgery Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Jones, S. 2002. Fashion Design. London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd.Langer, S. 1953. Feeling and Form. New York: Charles Scribner.Taylor, L Wilson, E, Through the Looking Glass: A History of Dress From 1860 to the Present Day BBC, London, 1989Terzian, Makrouhi. 2003. Understanding Fashion Design. Lexington, MA: The Lexington Press, Inc.

Explain Why It Is Impossible To Derive An Analytical Formula For Valu :: essays research papers

Explain Why It Is Impossible to Derive An Analytical Formula For Valuing American Puts. Explain why it has proved impossible to derive an analytical formula for valuing American Puts, and outline the main techniques that are used to produce approximate valuations for such securities Investing in stock options is a way used by investors to hedge against risk. It is simply because all the investors could lose if the option is not exercised before the expiration rate is just the option price (that is the premium) that he or she has paid earlier. Call options give the investor the right to buy the underlying stock at the exercise price, X; while the put options give the investor the right to sell the underlying security at X. However only America options can be exercised at any time during the life of the option if the holder sees fit while European options can only be exercised at the expiration rate, and this is the reason why American put options are normally valued higher than European options. Nonetheless it has been proved by academics that it is impossible to derive an analytical formula for valuing American put options and the reason why will be discussed in this paper as well as some main suggested techniques that are used to value them. According to Hull, exercising an American put option on a non-dividend-paying stock early if it is sufficiently deeply in the money can be an optimal practice. For example, suppose that the strike price of an American option is $20 and the stock price is virtually zero. By exercising early at this point of time, an investor makes an immediate gain of $20. On the contrary, if the investor waits, he might not be able to get as much as $20 gain since negative stock prices are impossible. Therefore it implies that if the share price was zero, the put would have reached its highest possible value so the investor should exercise the option early at this point of time. Additionally, in general, the early exerices of a put option becomes more attractive as S, the stock price, decreases; as r, the risk-free interest rate, increases; and as , the volatility, decreases. Since the value of a put is always positive as the worst can happen to it is that it expires worthless so this can be expressed as where X is the strike price Therefore for an American put with price P, , must always hold since the investor can execute immediate exercise any time prior to the expiry date. As shown in Figure 1,

Difference between functional and dysfunctional conflict Essay

Functional Conflict Susie Steel is a vice president in a real estate development firm called Hearts Development. She has spent enormous amounts of energy cultivating a relationship with a local town regarding an available plot of land. Susie would like to purchase the land to build townhomes for sale. She has developed an excellent relationship with the town politicians and community members. An issue has developed over the planned usage of the land, though. The town will sell the land to Susie’s company but feels that townhomes would be bad for the overall community. They’re concerned with the additional cost and burden of kids that the townhomes would bring into the community. Susie understands the community’s concern and wants a win-win situation to occur. She feels that this issue will be a functional conflict due to the fact that the disagreement will bring a positive end result to both parties. Positive results of functional conflict include: Awareness of both sides of issues Improvement of working conditions due to accomplishing solutions together Solving issues together to improve overall morale Making innovations and improvements within an organization In Susie’s case, constructive criticism and discussion resulted in a compromise and a solution between the parties. Susie understood the town’s concern but needed to find something to build that would bring revenue for the company. Through their joint meetings, the end solution was for Hearts Development to build a retirement community, which would only have citizens 55 and over living in the town. This would eliminate the issue of having more young people come into town and burden the school system.

Beauty: Wish and Jane Martin Essay

The play â€Å"Beauty† by Jane Martin was a great play as in it tells you of how there are some people out there that are not satisfied with whom or what they have. And wish to be someone else or have what someone else has. And the magic a Genie can bring to give them their wishes and let them see how it feels to change places with the person you admire most. Like the saying â€Å"the grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence.† The conflict that was going on in the play was between two women, Carla and Bethany. Bethany was the first to come forward with her feelings of inadequacies and wishing she was more like Carla. She then brings these feelings forward to Carla, who states her wish to be more like Bethany. Carla was beautiful and not too brainy, but care free with her life. Bethany was a not so beautiful woman but had a great head on her shoulders, and took life more seriously than Carla. Once Bethany and Carla brought forward their feelings about wishing they were the other, they had decided to make a wish with the Genie in the bottle that Bethany had found on the beach earlier that day. I believe at this time is where the rising action reaches its climax. The women make their wish to the genie, who then changes each one into the other. The women are now the other. They are stunned and happy at the same time. It was now time to live each other’s lives. Life went on for a few very long years with the women living each other’s lives. They then met up again. They had not been happy being the other. They missed who they had been. When Bethany had been Carla she found her new looks and less than intellectual ways had made people look at her differently, and not in a good way. Carla had seen that being as intelligent as Bethany was a double edged sword as well, not being very attractive and smart usually left you rather lonely and never considered the center of the males attention. I believe that before they met up and while they had lived one another’s lives is when the falling action began. I believe the falling action was them discovering that they should have appreciated who they were more before they had made this wish. The techniques that were used in the play was in how it was written and played out in a way that showed you important information and meaning in a very short amount of time by having the genie found and the wishes being known and acted on immediately, then showing them living each other’s lives and then them coming together to undo what they had done. This play accomplishes the meaning and the thought behind it by making you think from the very beginning what the actors were trying to portray to us and pushed right through to the actions that were going to take place and what would come of these actions. And lastly, the final thought on how their original feelings had changed and how they then were changed back into themselves, and tell of how they appreciated more now of who they had always been and didn’t want to be anyone else. Although the play is only ten minutes long, the events that happen in those ten minutes makes you see and maybe appreciate a little bit more of what you have and how changing places with someone else that you think you envy for whatever reason, may not be the way to go. Although it was only a ten minute play, during that ten minutes you were able to see what the women were feeling and what it was they had desired. It showed what their own insecurities about themselves were and the envy toward the others life and who they were. It’s amazing that Jane Martin could right all this and have it come across so clearly in a ten minute play. Jane Martin put the women that were total opposites together as friends and then she was able to show each ones strengths and weaknesses. As a whole person, they probably would have been Wonder Woman, each of them had a strength the other didn’t have and a weakness that the other didn’t have. But, when they were together as friends they completed each other. 1. The conflicts that were present were the two women who had wished to be the other and not satisfied with who they were as themselves. 2. The rising action was when the girls make their wish to change places with the genie. 3. The falling action begins toward the end of the years they spent being one another and seeing what the other’s life was like. 4. The techniques that were used to move the actions along were having the play begin with finding the genie and the fast way the women got into stating how they had wished to be the other and then showing how much they disliked being the other and meeting up and letting the other know their dislikes in having being the other and how they wished to be themselves again, and then making the wish to change back. The quickness of each spoken and acted out emotion and the clarity of what was being said and felt made this play able to be done in a ten minute time without taking anything away from what was coming across to the audience.

Crime and Senator Joseph Estrada

The most discussed law these days is Republic Act 7080 otherwise known as the law on plunder. Seen as a deterrent to prevent public officials from stealing money from the government, the plunder law was passed in 1991 with the most significant signatory being one Senator Joseph Estrada. In this edition of the Law Professor, we shall now examine the intricacies of the Plunder Law. What is plunder and how is it committed?According to Section 2 of RA 7080, plunder is committed when a public officer who, by himself or in connivance with members of his family, relatives by affinity or consanguinity, business associates, subordinates or other persons, amasses, accumulates or acquires ill-gotten wealth through a combination or series of overt or criminal acts as described in Section 1 (d) of RA 7080 in the aggregate amount or total value of at least Fifty million pesos (P50,000,000. 00).In addition, any person who participated with the said public officer in the commission of plunder shall likewise be punished. The criminal acts described in Section 1 (d) are as follows: 1. Through misappropriation, conversion, misuse, or malversation of public funds or raids on the public treasury; 2. By receiving, directly or indirectly, any commission, gift, share, percentage, kickbacks or any/or entity in connection with any government contract or project or by reason of the office or position of the public officer concerned; 3.By the illegal or fraudulent conveyance or disposition of assets belonging to the National government or any of its subdivisions, agencies or instrumentalities or government-owned or controlled corporations and their subsidiaries; 4. By obtaining, receiving or accepting directly or indirectly any shares of stock, equity or any other form of interest or participation including the promise of future employment in any business enterprise or undertaking; 5.By establishing agricultural, industrial or commercial monopolies or other combinations and/or implementat ion of decrees and orders intended to benefit particular persons or special interests; or, 6. By taking undue advantage of official position, authority, relationship, connection or influence to unjustly enrich himself or themselves at the expense and to the damage and prejudice of the Filipino people and the Republic of the Philippines. In the original version of RA 7080, the offender was liable only if the aggregate amount amassed is at least Seventy-five million pesos(P75,000,000. 00) with the corresponding penalty of life imprisonment with perpetual absolute disqualification from holding any public office. However, RA 7659 (The Death Penalty Law) amended Section 2 of RA 7080, and lowered the amount to Fifty million pesos and increased the imposable penalty to death, to wit: Sec. 12. Section 2 of Republic Act No. 7080 (An Act Defining and Penalizing the Crime of Plunder) is hereby amended to read as follows: â€Å"Sec. 2. Definition of the Crime of Plunder; Penalties.– Any public officer who, by himself or in connivance with members of his family, relatives by affinity or consanguinity, business associates, subordinates or other persons, amasses, accumulates or acquires ill-gotten wealth through a combination or series of overt criminal acts as described in Section 1 (d) hereof in the aggregate amount or total value of at least Fifty million pesos (P50,000,000. 00) shall be guilty of the crime of plunder and shall be punished by reclusion perpetua to death.Any person who participated with the said public officer in the commission of an offense contributing to the crime of plunder shall likewise be punished for such offense. In the imposition of penalties, the degree of participation and the attendance of mitigating and extenuating circumstances, as provided by the Revised Penal Code, shall be considered by the court. The court shall declare any and all ill-gotten wealth and their interests and other incomes and assets including the properties and sha res of stocks derived from the deposit or investment thereof forfeited in favor of the State.† Section 4 of RA 7080 also prescribes the method for proving that the crime of plunder was committed. It states that for purposes of establishing the crime of plunder, it shall not be necessary to prove each and every criminal act done by the accused in furtherance of the scheme or conspiracy to amass, accumulate or acquire ill-gotten wealth, it being sufficient to establish beyond reasonable doubt a pattern of overt or criminal acts indicative of the overall unlawful scheme or conspiracy.

Discipline a Child Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Discipline a Child - Research Paper Example The aim of any discipline is to set reasonable and realistic expectations. Disciplining a child often aims at protecting the child from harmful behavior and to impart education. It is a fact that children are sensitive and they require freedom to grow and learn. However, they cannot thrive on unlimited freedom as it will just hamper their growth of intelligence. For a child to grow up to be a responsible, conscious, respectable and dependable adults, he/ she should learn the moral, ethics and social norms that are considered acceptable by the society from their parents. Children who are brought up without any discipline tend to be selfish, greedy, dishonest and unfit for social interactions. Most of the undisciplined children often become destructive and aggressive adults. Children should be disciplined right from the start. However, the discipline techniques used by the parents or the guardians should be considered carefully as it can have a great impact on the child. Disciplining a child using abusive language, extreme physical violence or embarrassing the child should not be done as these can lead to negative development on the child. There are several ways for parents to discipline their children. Some of the common ways of disciplining a child are: spanking, yelling, punishing and embarrassing the child. ... Punishing them for their wrong deeds is one of the best ways to discipline them. But, punishment should not be harsh or cruel. In any form of disciplining a child, it is important to have complete control and to draw a line between torture and discipline. Spanking children to discipline them is one of the most debated topics in today’s world. Many people are now equating spanking to corporal punishment. On the other hand, many parents are in favor of spanking their kids to yield desired results on their behavior. There are many researchers who believed that spanking is harmful for the Childs development and many researchers are also in favor of spanking children. According to said Lisa Berlin, who is the lead author and research scientist at the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University, spanking is not an effective technique to discipline a child. She explained that spanking infants and toddlers, is not the answer to instill the right behavior in a child as they d o not understand anything about what is right, wrong or even punishment to really benefit from being spanked by their parents. Lisa Berlin and her colleagues’ research confirmed that children who were spanked from early years (as early as 1 year) are more aggressive and they are less likely to perform well as compared to other children who are not spanked. Lisa Berlin also added that previous research had also concluded that children who are spanked by their parents are more likely to be younger, less educated, depressed and stressed in their adult life. Discipline is an important and essential component in children developmental process. However, it should be done with extreme care as children lack the knowledge and understanding of the world around them.

Full stream service from VIP Clientele Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Full stream service from VIP Clientele - Essay Example An input, process and output model is established. Quality service and standards, test marketing, social marketing, key personnel involvement and competitive analysis are among the key aspects that are analysed in the model. A critical appraisal of the airline service provider is done by comparisons from other service providers. Business Process Model Review A well designed business process model should encompass the relationship of the entire processes as a whole to integrate the overall goal of value for the customer’s money. Value proposition section depicts the intended methods of services to be provided for the target market (see figure 1). VIP clientele are dispersed all over the world with an emphasis on the developed continents. Radical changes in this proposition are seen in the model. The intended goal of this proposition is to become leaders in providing full stream services in the airline industries. This has not been practiced before therefore, the introduction of the same will cause a shift in profits patterns from other airline competitors. Leasing of airplanes as well as rental of planes is a radical change in the airline industry. Focus has been in the past of private jet purchases but not rental or even on leasing terms. The door to door services is a radical change in this process. ... New airplanes will not be designed in this case. The business model will encompass the existing marketing strategies as an incremental change for the intended airline business. Technology has been developed in e-marketing which helps in marketing strategies. Catering during the flight will be done by already established high class caterers. The full stream services in the airline business will integrate the various aspects of high class services as a whole to achieve the target market. The preliminary stages in the design of the business model called for a thorough research of the airline industry. Gaps in the services were identified as high oil prices which will devolve to wiping out low costs air tickets in the coming years. A further analysis shows that safety during flight is at the core of any customer’s choice of airline service provider. In light of this, we deduced that customers need value in the flight services. Hiring or leasing a plane at ones comfort is the way f orward, ensuring high class services are provided from the beginning to the end. Door to door service is a deduced solution since the existing airlines do not offer such to customers. The innovation of this new business model is towards the customer’s experience before, during and after arrival of a flight. Customers are having fears of lack of safety in the pre-existing services. This will be counteracted by individualized services e.g. lease or rent of a plane, a cab for efficiency and effectiveness of the entire flight experience. High oil prices will cause high costs for travelling in the airline industry. The business model is market driven as a shift from highly priced and crowded airlines will be experienced to safe and specialized flight services. Existing technology

Canadian & US Immigration and Discriminition Essay

Canadian & US Immigration and Discriminition - Essay Example Therefore, around the globe many people eyes on the developed countries as a staircase towards their dreams. They believe that being in a developed state will provide them with proper job opportunities and a reward that is equivalent to their efforts. This partly may be true, but the first step of immigration is a big hindrance and may itself be a discouraging factor. Developed countries like United States and Canada have their own policies of immigration. Some may be beneficial for the immigrants while some poses a challenge to their existence. These negative aspects of these two countries immigration policies can be attributed to the fact that most developed nations are not very receptive to immigrants. A lot of discrimination exists on the bases of original nationality of the immigrants and various other factors. The paper will highlight and compare the difference in these policies and how they might discriminate on various bases. History of immigration in Canada and America: Both Canada and America are major recipients of immigrants from all over the world. As the statistics show that both of them accepted over 12 million immigrants between the period of 1960 to 1980 (Borjas 1991). This was a result of various changes in the policies implemented by the governments in the early 1960s. Before this period both the countries had a policy to issue only very few visas based on the nationality of the applicant. For example in the United States national origin quota system influenced the immigration policy prior to 1965 amendments. There was a definitive discrimination as Asian were only allocated a very low percentages of the total available quota. Most of these accepted immigrants were from European countries, Germany and Russia. Now we know that the source of immigration is an important factor that can determine the skills of the workers. This is partially due to the fact that cultural and social aspects of any country mould an individual’s talent. A sing le cultural immigration, therefore, caused a decline in the diversities of skills present in both countries. After 1960 both United States and Canada started to accept immigrants from diverse nations. US evolved a policy that allocated visa permits to those immigrants with relational ties to the residents of US. Whereas Canada initiated issuing visas on the basis of applicants observable socioeconomic characteristics (Borjas 1991). So overall these transmutation in the policies of both countries attracted workers with diversity of technical skills that aid in the economic development of these countries. US and Canadian immigration policy 1960 to 1980: The amendments made in 1965 in United States immigration policies abolished the national origin quota system and introduced a more versatile approach in allocation of the visas to the immigrants. These amendments influenced immigration system for the next two decades. Total number of visa allocation was increased to 270,000 and no more than 20,000 can be issued to the origin of a specific country. This is was totally in contrast to the earlier policies where most percentage of the visas was allocated to only few specific countries. Moreover, about 80 percent of those total visas were given to those with close relational ties with the US resident. This in particular was an important amendment because it

Leadership and Managment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Leadership and Managment - Assignment Example This paper approves that the manager sees the existence of the conflict but deliberately tries to avoid it. The manager tries to ignore the sentiments raised by the team members. In as far as the aspect of accommodating is concerned, it can be seen that the other party tries to appease others through placing their priorities on top of his. The other aspect is related to compromising where each party tries to give up something as a way of resolving the conflict. this stage deals with behaviour where it can be seen that the conflict becomes visible in the organisation. In this case, the behaviour of the team members has negatively changed since there is low morale in the organization after the encounter described above. Communication involves the exchange of information between parties involved in a certain conflict. In order to solve group conflicts, there are certain steps that can be taken by the leaders. There are three ways of solving inter-group conflict namely: peaceful coexiste nce, compromise and problem solving. This essay makes a conclusion that in an organisation, it can be noted that conflict is inevitable but it can be solved amicably depending on the leader’s capability and interpersonal skills towards finding ways of resolving conflicts. In the scenario described above, it has been noted that the leader is too authoritarian hence he could not listen to the views of the members of the team. This created the conflict described above. Therefore, it is recommended that the leader should implement the following measures in order to avoid a similar situation in the future.

Critically review the situation at RestaurantCo and identify the Essay

Critically review the situation at RestaurantCo and identify the strengths and weaknesses of its approach to managing human reso - Essay Example Theoretically, the dimension of Human Resource Management (HRM) helps in linking the functions of human resource with the determined organisational objectives in order to improve the performance of the organisation on the whole. Apart from linking the human resource functions with the strategic objectives of the firm, it further assists the organization in establishing a proper understanding amidst the superiors and the supervisors working within it. HRM further helps in maintaining a coordinated relation between the external factors that contribute substantially to the organizational development and success (Bratton, n.d.). With the continually growing significance and complexities in the HRM dimension, the adaption of Employees Involvement and Participation (EIP) is often argued to contribute in differentiating a company’s internal strengths by enhancing the flexibility of the workforce to adjust with the external business environmental changes. The notion behind the concept of EIP concentrates on the fact that effective involvement and participation of the workforce would lead towards the achievement of the organizational goals and efficiencies. The concept of measuring the formal and informal EIP link further can be regarded as an important part of any organization, as it helps in evaluating the employees performances over a certain standard of time, in comparison with pre-set standards or goals. Formal EIP is further considered to be those practises, where the managers of a department consult with the employees before implementing a new work practice within the set working environment; whereas, informal EIP signifies that decision-making process, where the managers do not follow any formal procedure to gather suggestions from the subordinates (Storey, 2007). In this essay, the discussion henceforth will intend to critically evaluate the situation of RestaurantCo and to identify the strengths and weakness of its approaches thereon. The discussion wil l further aim at assessing links between corporate strategies, culture, HR policy and management practices at the workplace level of RestaurantCo with EIP. Corporate Strategies and Culture In corporate strategies, authority is considered to be highly important to practice an effective decision making procedure. Authority is generally considered as an obligation to act on behalf of a department or agency or any higher level of authority within an organization. Furthermore, authority is the key to the managerial job; they endure the right of indulging into the decision-making process being in the top level management. Delegation of authority is basically the process of allocating the work and transferring the rights from the higher authority to the lower level employees within an organizational context that inculcates EIP related aspects to a considerable extent. This form of strategy is usually adapted by the top level management when there is an over load of work or is viewed in lar ge industries where assigning managers for a single department is very essential maintaining a linkage between the organisation’s short-term or long-term objectives and the workforce performances. Correspondingly, it has been viewed that today’

The Watergate Scandal and Its Aftermath Essay Example for Free

The Watergate Scandal and Its Aftermath Essay On January 21, 1969, Richard Milhous Nixon was inaugurated as the 37th President of the United States and re-elected in January 3, 1973. On August 8, 1974, Nixon became the first US President to resign after impeachment proceedings were initiated against him over what has become known as â€Å"The Watergate Scandal.† (Watergate Chronology) The term Watergate has become synonymous with political cover-up, lies, crime skullduggery and scandal in the United States and worldwide.   The fact that a simple botched burglary opened a prodigious can of worms makes it all the more mind-boggling. As people began to realize that they were in the midst of a conspiracy that reached all the way to the top, they began to wonder just how deep, and how widespread, the rot went. Nixon himself has denied any complicity in the matter, until evidence that this was not so become too compelling to ignore, hence the subsequent impeachment articles and resignation. However, his motivations, aside from the mandatory â€Å"for the good of the nation†, was never satisfactorily explained. Regardless of the why, the effect of Watergate on the political status of Nixon is unexpected. It, of course, killed his Presidency, and although successor President Gerald Ford extended him a full pardon and he did not go to jail, many believed that he embodied the essence of all that was wrong in American politics of that era. Watergate colors any good he may have done during his term of office. However, he was far from quietly fading into the good night. After his resignation and pardon, Nixon proceeded to quietly regain respectability in the eye of the American public.   By the time of his death, he had managed to author nine books and served as adviser to US Presidents Bush Senior and Reagan. Whenever he spoke about American foreign policy before a crowd, people listened because he had made it his business to travel and get a political feel of the various countries he toured and the mindset of the political leaders he visited. In fact, his last book, Beyond Peace, was a less than flattering summation of American foreign policy that was timely in the face of the political crises such as in Bosnia and Korea after the Cold War. (Stacks, 1994) Nixon failed in the midst of his success, and succeeded in the midst of his failure. Ruthless in his pursuit and determined in his endeavors, he managed to rise above the ashes of the Watergate Scandal that destroyed the careers of at least 30 of the most prominent men of his time and died in 1997 regarded by many as an elderly statesman. What of the country he had, as many people still firmly believe, betrayed to further his own interests and control? What has his abuse of power done to affect American policy? The Watergate incident succeeded in opening an Aegean stables of graft and corruption, throwing into sharp relief the special interest groups that had bought their way into favor and prompted a US President to stake all.   The cleansing tide of public opinion and media criticism enabled the disheveled American government to rally around and expose the core of the problem. But the aftermath was more complicated than what was anticipated. People started to lose confidence in their political leaders, seeing them as untrustworthy and vulnerable to large corporations with deep pockets. Conspiracy theories cropped up that seemed increasingly probable, and suspicion of the â€Å"men in black† such as the FBI, CIA etc., agencies that served the will of people in power and not the American people increased. This may have been due to the fact of the FBI’s involvement in the attempted cover-up. (Watergate) The belt was tightening around campaign finance, and at first the measures were stringent. Campaign contributions could neither be from questionable sources nor more than $1,000.00. A federal commission on elections was formed to watch over the general election between Ford and Jimmy Carter. However, these measures could not last with clever politicians and court interpretations of the law backing the claim that campaign contributions were covered under the First Amendment. (Jackson, 1999) Soon, the amount of contributions from special interest groups and large corporations to both the Democratic and Republican parties reached epic proportions, undreamed off during Nixon’s time. Tighter media vigilance also succeeded in promoting transparency and accountability among the politicians. However, the unfailing skepticism of the spoken and written word became an integral part of this vigilance, lending material for many a stand-up comedy act that nevertheless undermine the efforts of politicians and statesmen to effect positive and progressive change in American policies, never mind if they be honest and morally upright. The media coverage of the Watergate hearings became the focal point of interest for at least 85% of the population at any given time in the initial proceedings, at one time dominating airtime with 13 hours of coverage in the six days following the first hearing on July 24, 1974. (Garay) While this kept people informed of what was happening, a change in the American psyche also resulted. The people post-Watergate lost their confidence in their elected officials and had adopted a passive, if not overtly hostile, attitude towards the whole process. This has filtered down to later generations and now less than 50% of the voting population actually bothers to vote. The general opinion is that all politicians and people in power are liars, or are not telling the whole truth, in pursuit of their own advancement and self-interests. This belief has translated into an overzealous, almost paranoid, eye for political corruption. Ethics committees and procedures, independent counsel law, public integrity sections and other such agencies are devoted solely to having a weather eye cocked for the smallest misstep. What was once acceptable political give-and-take, such as free football tickets, is looked at askance as a symptom of much bigger largesse. (Jackson, 1999) This has not stopped any chicanery, however. There are many ways around a committee, and around the law, if one has enough resources to pull it off. Many use this vigilance to discredit a rival or to gain favor in the public eye, most probably while doing the same thing or something else equally or more unethical or even illegal. The important thing is, from a political point of view, is not to get caught, as Nixon so very openly was. All this reform, disclosure and transparency has given way to two very significant results: One, those in politics bent on serving their own interests has become very good at fooling the watch dogs down paths that they want to expose while covering their own tracks; and two, those who have the nation’s interest at heart has an uphill climb in gaining the trust and confidence of the people. And what of the media? Many forget that the media is also a special interest group, but instead of currying favor from politicians to get special treatment by giving campaign contributions and other donations, the media uses politics and politicians to exploit whatever the issue of the moment is and sell. While many are legitimate publications with reliable sources or well-formed opinions, the great influence they have on public opinion are not always used judiciously. Their motivation is to sell. The bigger the scandal, the better, never mind if it is not always in the public interest to know all. Bad news sells better than good news, and many times the public focuses only on who’s doing what to whom rather than what good some have been doing, or trying to do. In the case of Watergate, media fed on the thirst of the public to know, but failed to provide a complete picture of what actually happened that 30 years down the line has provided to some extent. The damage has been done, the people no longer trust government, and are ready to believe the worst without giving benefit to doubt. What was most interesting to those who analyze the raison d’etre of the scandal was that it seemed almost pointless, as Nixon at the time was at the top of his form, having just been re-elected with a landslide victory, and popular with the nation. Many asked what could be his reason for wanting to bug the offices of the Democratic Party’s National Committee, housed then at the plush Watergate Hotel. Political spying and sabotage seemed to be the most obvious reason, as FBI investigators established in 1972, and it appeared reasonable what with the coming elections. However, the popularity he had gathered with his delivery of the â€Å"Silent Majority† speech on the Vietnam War seemed to make these efforts superfluous. (Watergate.info) To this day there has been no satisfactory answer as to the why as many closely involved with the scandal have died, and have taken the mystery with them. What is not a mystery today is the ripple-effect of Watergate on American politics and policy, and the establishment of Richard Nixon as a public figure. Political bashing and mud-slinging has become the order of the day, and the media has run true to form in exploiting the dollar value of a good scandal. Campaign financing has become big business, reaching astronomic levels, with the added bonus of being legitimate, thanks to slick interpretation and manipulation of the law by clever legal counsels. Political ingenuity has plotted an indictment-free zone so that money can talk in government policy. And despite skepticism, the American public relies heavily on the media to form their opinion regarding whom and what to believe, especially since Watergate when there were no holds barred as to what the media could put out.   People believe that the printed and televised words is inviolate, but more often than not the voices of the ones who have truly pure motives get drowned out with all the noise the ones with the deep pockets make. And where is Nixon in all this, that focus of Watergate? He lives on in the memory of the Americans as the President who authored the mother of all scandals (and was unfortunate enough to get caught) and the man who afterwards stood back up and brushed himself off to exert his influence in the political arena in spite of it. As he reportedly put to Russian Vice President Alexander Rutskoi following Rutskoi’s release from prison after his failed takeover against Boris Yeltsin, â€Å"that, for some, there can be life after hell.† (Stacks, 1994) References Watergate Chronology Washington Post retrieved December 28, 2006 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/onpolitics/watergate/chronology.htm Watergate: The Scandal That Brought Down Richard Nixon Watergate.info retrieved December 28, 2006 from   http://www.watergate.info/ Garay, R. WATERGATE   The Museum of Broadcast Communications retrieved December 28, 2006 from http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/W/htmlW/watergate/watergate.htm Jackson, B. 1999. A Watergate Legacy: More Public Skepticism, Ambivalence All Politics: CNN Time retrieved December 28, 2006 from http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/gen/resources/watergate/watergate.jackson/index.alt.html Stacks, J. 1994. Victory in Defeat All Politics: CNN Time retrieved December 28, 2006 from http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/gen/resources/watergate/watergate.stacks/index.alt.html Watergate Case Closed retrieved December 28, 2006 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/crime/caseclosed/watergate.shtml